SoftBank's Next Move Is Up

Billionaire Masayoshi Son's investment vehicle's share price has more than doubled since he first bid for Sprint Nextel. Alibaba is the next catalyst.

On the day last fall when Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son unveiled a takeover bid for Sprint Nextel, investors rushed to sell the shares of his flagship, the acquirer, SoftBank. The stock plunged 17%. The debt from the $21.6 billion deal, analysts argued, would weigh on SoftBank, a tech investor, while Sprint struggled as a distant No. 3 behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T (ticker: T).